Out of Sequence
by VG LittleBear
Summary: Tag and more to "Check" season 12, ep. 11 - Gibbs (POV) - hurt/guilt - Mishnev shoots someone close to Gibbs (spoilers to canon death) - Major spoiler warnings: 12x01, 12x11, additional warnings refer chapter 1.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. The characters are borrowed from the CBS network show NCIS for personal entertainment purposes only. No profit is or shall be made from this fan tribute to the show which is owned by TPTB. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.

Set in time: NCIS 2015, tag and more to "Check", season 12 episode 11

Major Characters: Leroy Jethro Gibbs (POV), Diane Sterling, Ducky, Anthony D. DiNozzo

Spoiler warning: 05x03 "Ex-File", 09x07 "Devil's Triangle", 10x09 "Devil's Trifecta", 11x10 "Devil's Triad", 12x01 "Twenty Klicks", 12x11 "Check"

A/N: If you haven't watched the episode yet, be warned. Think twice about reading on! It's as much canon as I could manage, and it's not pretty! Frankly, I'm upset! That's why I'm writing this, probably in two parts. Feedback much encouraged!

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><p>Out of Sequence<p>

(by VG LittleBear/vglb)

At first he'd not paid attention to the scenery, focused on Diane walking up to him on top of the wide open car-park. Both of them wanting to know why they were there. By the time she had gotten around to "Manicure", his heart had set to thundering despite his caffeine deprived body. Assessing the threat, he'd shielded her with his body as best as he could and sent them running for the paltry cover her car provided. He felt Diane's confused compliance in the way she'd slipped under his arms.

"Come on, come on, come on!" with each repetition Gibbs' voice had become softer, more entreating.

One moment he'd been reaching for the handle on her car door, the next Diane was thrown back violently, and he along with her, so tightly had he been holding her.

Gibbs jerked awake upon reliving the moment. Unfortunately his mind kept running the scene regardless.

He'd guided her suddenly slack body to the cold rooftop. By the time Gibbs had lowered Diane, her eyes had closed and then stuck at half-mast, and blood started to surround her marred head. Just like Kate, only much, much worse. He'd sprung the trap!

He kept going back to that awful instant every time he closed his tired eyes. He'd been so close to getting her into the car! Why hadn't he pushed her head out of sight? But logic told him it had been too late the moment he'd shown up. Why had he chosen this time to go where Diane expected him? Maybe if he'd been more suspicious about that fake call, Mishnev would have let her go unscathed? Instead she'd been executed like Mata Hari. The nickname no longer appeared funny.

Ducky had opened the black body bag for him down in Autopsy. Diane's body had acquired the pallor of death by then. He'd stared at it shortly, but he hadn't wanted a moment alone with what was left behind. They had broken enough vows together, he didn't need to promise anything to her body. He knew her killer was going to die, that was enough for now.

Tonight's headache was doubled by heartache worse than their break-up had ever been. Sitting on his couch, he felt cold and sick. His head ached. Tony was somewhere around, he'd coordinated guards to ensure his safety at home, but Gibbs didn't think there was any danger to his life at this point. Mishnev could have taken him out as he'd stood still beside Diane's body. Or finished him off after he'd dropped like a stone in the terrorist's nest. The man was not interested in hurting him physically, at this time at least. Nevertheless, they kept the lights off, and the shades down. No point in making it easy to get shot at, and there was Tony to think about too. Tony was family.

Killer-headache, what a sick joke! Rebecca and her fingers had taken care of the one he'd had the evening before, when his world had been okay as much as it ever was these days. Tonight she was probably soothing her new husband-to-be. Gibbs was okay with that, he had gotten both of them into protective custody. Why had he thought Diane didn't need it?

Only this morning Gibbs had woken to a spluttering Diane, ranting one of Tobias' favorite expletives. In one of life's little jokes, Gibbs had been fast asleep with ex-wife number two protectively curled in his arms. It had been the best sleep he'd had in a while, despite having slept fully clothed. They had not intended falling asleep, but after Rebecca had massaged away his ache he had been too relaxed to move. Rebecca had leaned against him, and that was the last conscious thought he'd had.

A few hours ago, Diane had been her usual loud, abrasive, sharp, and ultimately funny self. He'd spent a lot of time getting away from her. And she had delighted in seeking him out when he least expected it.

It had been a long time since Diane had been his wedded wife, and yet he kept remembering his proposal, the original one, and even clearer his repeat performance, when her eyes had shone with relief, never breaking her cover despite having been made. He'd known she was a natural after having seen her looking at him with big Bambi eyes while establishing contact at the bona fide marriage reception.

He flashed to Diane's insistence on saving her third husband from unknown dangers several years ago. Her whispered admission that Gibbs was 'her Shannon' had brought its own heartbreak. Her wish to wake up every morning with a man she loved when she had gone back to Tobias. And her slightly screwed plea for getting his blessing to do so.

She'd had a way with words, and she'd called him Leroy. Insisted on it, saying it was his first name, all without ever having met his father. He'd missed the opportunity to bring them together in life, but he spared a thought for Jack now: "Watch out for her, Dad!"

Despite their antagonistic exchanges, she'd been his friend much more than he'd ever let on. She had saved his life back when he was hurting so bad for his family that he couldn't breathe. Ultimately she had given up on their marriage, but never on him. She'd held on long enough for him to get a secure grip on life, hunting the lowlife, and saving his brothers-in-arms from facing the choices he'd made. Maybe even her angry promise to make him suffer had been an unconscious kind of reverse psychology to ensure he stayed alive after their divorce. He'd never understood her, but her irregular eruption in his life, had always energized him ... sorta... after he'd gotten a good night's sleep. Now he wouldn't get that, not as long as Mishnev was the hunter instead of the huntee.

He'd seen a deep wound open in Tobias too, when he'd finally stood face to face with him, alone. When Gibbs told Tobias haltingly, that Diane was in Autopsy, on Ducky's table, he'd swayed, and somehow they ended in an embrace, neither man knowing who held up whom.

The sudden thought that Diane would be reorganizing hell now, and the devil was going to be without funds very soon was kinda hopeful. But Gibbs wouldn't share that one with Tobias, not anytime soon, maybe never. Fornell had to think of his daughter now, but Diane had still been married to Sterling. Should he encourage Tobias to let Emily stay with her stepfather while they hunted the monster? Would Emily be safe there? She was family, and her name appeared in his case files. Last year she had been abducted in the course of a case Gibbs had been investigating, with her parents smack in the middle. Would Emily still be calling him Uncle Gibbs now he'd gotten her mother killed?

His thoughts were all over the place, and it was not due to the pistol whipping his head had received. He'd had the chance to take out the guy responsible for this, and he'd blown it. Ten more minutes outside the apartment would have had his team there. But he'd felt an overwhelming need to get his hands around Mishnev's neck, and he'd gotten that far. But he hadn't cleared the room, had just wildly shot around himself to get to the man. And then instead of shooting him like a rabid wolf, he'd gotten physical.

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><p>- TBC -<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. The characters are borrowed from the CBS network show NCIS for personal entertainment purposes only. No profit is or shall be made from this fan tribute to the show which is owned by TPTB. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.

A/N: Thanks to all that have read, followed, reviewed or favorited 'Out of Sequence' already! Please read now the final part, you'll probably recognize a few scenes from earlier episodes.

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><p>Still sitting on his couch, holding his aching head, Gibbs tried to concentrate. He was still deprived of his daily coffee intake, and with the probable concussion, even a shot of Bourbon was out.<p>

What had Ari Haswari's friend Sergei Mishnev in mind? He was more than messing with Gibbs family and friends. Diane was dead, and he didn't know who was next. Ari's game had been to drive Gibbs to kill himself. It hadn't worked then. Killing Kate had not made him suicidal in the least. Well, apart from mutating into Captain Ahab. Today he'd already filled his quota of descent into folly. Tony would not let him do it again anytime soon, even if the whole team was straining at the leash to avenge Diane. Curiously his ex-wife had made friends among his extended team, Ziva in particularly had liked working with Agent Stirling, and so had Abby. Earlier today he'd walked in on Palmer declaring "No!" to Ducky. Because losing another friend of their close knit community had pushed the younger M.E. to the brink, and maybe beyond. He'd watched numbly as Jimmy walked to the wall, before walking himself over to Ducky's side, there where the body bag awaited handling.

Gibbs knew he'd been acting strange for hours. He'd walked around with Diane's blood on his face, in his ear, on his clothes, and his team had let him be. Until he'd grabbed his keys to drive over to Tobias. Then Tony had collared him and marched him to the bathroom. His second in command had not let him leave before he'd gotten every speck cleaned off. Even if he'd been sidetracked on the way there, Gibbs was glad Tony had his six. He couldn't imagine, if he'd shown up covered in Diane's blood at Fornell's place. It was hard enough to tell Tobias that their ex-wife had died in his arms. Then watch a heartbroken Tobias tell his daughter that they had lost her mother.

Gibbs had never liked or trusted electronic records. And now he was royally screwed, there was too much information about himself and those he cared for available in the NCIS electronic vaults. Those that IT-Kevin had helped breach, his only saving grace that he had changed his mind about selling the program. Nevertheless, the program had been run, easily penetrating the isolation, jumping firewalls ... Gibbs hadn't followed that explanation too well. Kevin had helped Abby clean up the virus, but now it seemed it had not only messed with their computers, the program had given Sergei access to secured files, his in particular, and those who had worked with him.

Abby was still working on identifying which files had been poached, on top of Gibbs' personnel file. Mike Franks, Jennifer Sheppard, Caitlin Todd, how deeply had those files been penetrated?

That poor Navy officer murdered like Mike Franks, was he just a placeholder? Was Sergei telling him he was going after Mike's family? Then the female Captain, bled out like Jenny, surrounded by four other bodies in the diner. How had he not seen the parallel immediately? But he had never seen the bodies on the original crime scene, although Tony had. Hearing Abby retell the shooting in a weird echo of the then Assistant Director Vance was bound to bring up the nightmares that had plagued him after Jenny died. Not that he expected to escape the new nightmares any time soon.

Was Ziva in danger? He hoped the NCIS files had not been amended to show who had truly shot her half-brother. He wondered distractedly how Doctor Bashan had known the truth. Maybe Eli had told his never-to-be daughter-in-law? Would warning Ziva do Sergei's work for him? Was she better off out of touch? Or was she already involved? He remembered her cryptic goal "Stop this for him." She had said "him" was Gibbs, but the rest remained unclear.

Gibbs was trying to think who else was in danger outside of his NCIS family, simply by a mention in a case-file attributed to his name.

Stephanie Bronwyn Flynn of course, both ex-wife and once a major witness in a case. But she no longer lived in DC, and they had not been in touch since she'd moved. He'd get Tony to whistle up police protection for her and her sister's family. Discreetly, and safely outside of anything related to NCIS.

Then there was his goddaughter, she was a dependent in Mike's file. How was he going to protect Amira and her mother Leyla? Maybe he'd ask Leon to get in touch with Shada Shakarji? He couldn't risk sending an NCIS Agent to pick them up. The constellation was too close to what happened to Shannon and Kelly.

That last thought had been too much. Gibbs barely made it to the kitchen sink before throwing up. He was still heaving when Tony showed up, and handed him a wet towel. DiNozzo didn't ask if he was okay. For once Tony was keeping quiet, with that worried face he almost never let show.

He'd refused to get checked out at the hospital, after being knocked out earlier. But when Ducky arrived at the scene, he'd looked at Gibbs and decreed that he was on an hourly concussion check, and not to be left alone. Tony had dogged his every step since they had left together. After telling Fornell to stay put over the phone, Tony had taken Gibbs keys and driven him over.

All the people he'd lost, had left deep craters in his soul. And now Diane was dead too. He would probably never forgive himself. Oh, he knew the theory ... it was not his fault. But it felt like it was. Gibbs carefree words to a Mafia boss who had threatened to kill his family long ago came to haunt him now: "My father's dead, but I can give you the address of my exes!"

He'd never meant it, yet his father was dead and buried, and his ex-wives were targets now! A low moan escaped Gibbs' tightly closed lips. Once more he saw himself lowering Diane, her body ... he needed to get a grip. He knew Ducky had talked about cranial trauma only, as he'd have refused treatment for shock. Even to himself he wanted to deny the emotional trauma, but it wasn't working.

NCIS had become a fortress, since everyone he'd ever worked with was a potential target. Yet he'd gone home, to the house Diane had inhabited for a time. His human anti-depressant after he'd been alone for less than a year as a widower. He'd never meant to get her hurt, not then, and certainly not now. And he'd catastrophically failed.

- finis -


End file.
